Mark Kramer

Mark R. Kramer is an authority on business strategies for social impact and a leading thinker in the evolution of corporate, foundation, and nonprofit roles in society. Kramer co-founded FSG with Harvard Business School Professor Michael E. Porter, establishing it as a global social impact consulting firm with offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. FSG develops social impact strategies for major foundations, corporations, and nonprofit organizations, with clients including Walmart, Target, Google, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Kramer is recognized as the co-creator of the Creating Shared Value concept and co-author of three significant publications: the Harvard Business Review article "Creating Shared Value" and the Stanford Social Innovation Review articles "Collective Impact" and "Catalytic Philanthropy." A two-time McKinsey Award winner, his work has influenced how investors and business leaders approach the relationship between corporate performance and social good, advancing the conversation beyond traditional ESG reporting to emphasize competitive advantage in addressing societal challenges. FSG also operates the Shared Value Initiative and the Collective Impact Forum, two communities of practice that originated from his work.

Kramer serves as a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's CSR Initiative of the Center for Business and Government and has held positions as a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and visiting lecturer at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a frequent speaker at conferences worldwide and publishes regularly in Harvard Business Review and Stanford Social Innovation Review. His work has been cited by Financial Times, The Economist, and NPR, establishing his position as a thought leader on the intersection of business strategy and social responsibility.

In addition to his work at FSG, Kramer co-founded the Center for Effective Philanthropy, a nonprofit focused on improving foundation performance, and has served as a director of the World Benchmarking Alliance, which tracks corporate progress on sustainable development goals. He has participated on the jury of the CECP's Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Award, the planning committee for the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Creating Shared Value Advisory Board at Nestlé. Kramer is also a co-founder and director of Maternal Newborn Health Innovations and a partner in the impact investing fund Congruence Capital.

Prior to his work in social impact consulting, Kramer served as president of Kramer Capital Management, a venture capital firm, and as an associate at the law firm Ropes & Gray. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was an articles editor on the Law Review and received the Order of the Coif and the Gemmill Prize in Tax Research. Kramer's multidisciplinary background in law, finance, and strategy informs his perspective on purpose-driven business and social impact.